The Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer (DSSAT) is a suite of computer programs designed to simulate agricultural crop growth.. [1] It has been used in more than 100 countries by agronomists to evaluate farming practices. [2] [3] One application has been assessing the possible impacts on agriculture of climate change and testing adaptation methods. [4]
DSSAT is built with a modular approach, with different options available to represent such processes as evapotranspiration and soil organic matter accumulation, which facilitates testing different representations of processes important in crop growth. [5] [6] [7] The functionality of DSSAT has also been extended through interfaces with other software such as GIS. [2] [8] DSSAT typically requires input parameters related to soil condition, weather, any management practices such as fertilizer use and irrigation, and characteristics of the crop variety being grown. [9] Many common crops have their characteristics already implemented as DSSAT modules. [1]
DSSAT grew out of the International Benchmark Sites Network for Agrotechnological Transfer (IBSNAT) in the 1980s, with the first official release in 1989. [1] Version 4, released in 2003, introduced a more modular structure and added tools for agricultural economic analysis and risk assessment. [1] Development has continued in affiliation with the International Consortium for Agricultural Systems Applications (ICASA). [10]